FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have finally finished my report, it took me longer that i thought, but here is the last set of tables and graphs:

HELP!!!

okays i am having the same trouble as Jessica with combining all of my results into one or two tables. so im going to leave it for now and start my report :(

say MOLD!

here are some pictures i took actually all the pictures i took, i kinda forgot about it
i forgot what each of them were and when they were taken so these are just for your enjoyment.

results! results finally!

okays, well im juggling between masterchef, Breaking the Magician's Code (which is sooooo good) and Big Bang Theory and SRP. yeah. just great but it's okay, there all kinda related to science so im doing my work :D Apart from my little break i have results.

i gave up organising the pictures and also click on the images for a clearer look. i guess you can call this my raw datasheet. well it's the one i used to record my results.

if your wondering how i worked out the percentages. well all i did was some vague mystical movements then BAM! MAGIC!!!. the secret is some calculator punching and i got the idea from a previous California science fair project(which i previously mentioned before :D http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2006/Projects/J1305.pdf
what i did was i made this 1x1cm grid (shown below) and everytime i measured, i calculated how many and how much of the squares it took and i calculated the % covered in mould by dividing the amount of squares covered in mould with the total surface area of each slice (which i found varied a bit) and convert into a percentage.

and i also forgot to mention that i didn't have time to do a second trial but im going to count my trial with the dust and water as my second trial. hmmm i hope this works out

Later i'll post another table with a more organised results.

i like to move it move it

yes i need to move it into light speed asap. i have calculated that i have around 4 hours left of today to do as much as i can. i am doing all my results now and tabulating it. don't worry everyone, i just had vitamin water and i am PUMPED!

i also realised that forgot to mention some of the risks involving the experiment. here are some of the things that could have killed me:

• ingesting the mould is dangerous as it is a bacteria so i have to always where gloves if handling with mould and to keep it away from the eating table. i used a closed box to make sure that the mould woudn't contaminate other areas of the house
• sharp objects were used such as scissors and needed to use carefully
  

yeah, that was all that i could think of. next post WILL be on my results I PROMISE!

EXPERIMENTT

i started the experiment on Wednesday the 2nd of June, i changed the method a bit before i started, here's is what i did

1. the materials were collected:
i thought i will mention this i kinda stole my grandpa's box of zip lock bags, the bag of cotton swabs, the box of gloves and i borrowed the cup. the ruler, marker and scissors are mine. the dropper i got from the chemistry kit box that i put in the background, which i asked my mum to buy when i was young but i never did any of the experiments (maybe when i finish the srp i should do some of them). please ignore the toothpick container thing.

2. i realised that i couldn't really cut 10x10x2cm squares so i decided to cut 8x8x2cm squares, the depth of the slices were roughly the same. what i did was, i used the crust that no one likes and i ruled the lines and i cut a sample. i used this sample as a guide to cut the rest of the slices. 10 with preservatives and 10 without.

3. Each zip lock bag was labelled accordingly

4. 5 slices with preservatives where each put in the
'Preserv clean' zip lock bags and 5 slices of bread without preservatives where each put into the 'Non-preserv' clean' zip lock bags.

5. using the cotton swab, swab some dust on the center (on one side)of each of the 5 remaining bread slices with preservatives. Then using the dropper, 5 drops of water were dropped spread out around (on one side) on the slice of bread. place each slice in the 'preserve dust' zip- locked bags.

6. Repeat step 5 with the bread slices without preservatives.



7. 2 boxes were obtained. one labelled 'clean' the other 'dust'. the zip lock bags labelled with 'preserv clean' and 'non-preserv clean' were placed in the 'clean' box. The other bags were placed in the 'dust' box.

8. the boxes were put side by side in a dark covered spot.

it's getting serious!

I've got a scarf, hobo gloves, thick woolly socks, leg warmers and a glass of water . i plan to lock myself to the computer all day. I AM GOING TO DO SOME SERIOUS STUFF.

okay today i have a long list of things i need to do like A LOT. i plan to finish uploading the information on my experiment, the results and the tables and graphs, AND to finish my report which will require some more research.

TIME TO GET TO WORK!! oh and i need a beanie

Also i would also like to thank the Queen. You are my hero. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!
I WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! and eternal happiness.

Growth of Mould

according to this site http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bread-mold-growth.html
"Microscopic parts of the bread mold fungi, called as spores, are present in the air all around us. They can be found on any surface and in any condition. It appears on the surface of bread that may be left open in normal conditions, say on the kitchen countertop. These spores germinate to form hyphae that begin to grow on the bread surface absorbing all the moisture and nutrients from the bread. With adequate nutrients from the bread they develop into mature fungi that consists of rhizoids. These rhizoids penetrate into the bread surface and hold the fungus to the organic material. It then develops fruiting structures known as sporangium, where small spores grow and are released in the surrounding areas. This is how the cycle of bread mold growth continues."

and this site:http://www.kidzone.ws/science/is-mold.htm

with the picture below, i didn't really have time to crop it into the parts that i wanted so im just going to tell you that paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and maybe 6 is relevant.

what is MOULD?

i was researching some sites and i finally realised that some sites used 'mold' and some used 'mould'. i got confused because on my laptop i typed "mold' it had the red squiggly lines underneath but on the site, when i types 'mould' there would be red lines underneath. i googles this and i have concluded that MOULD is the correct one to use in Australia.

Anyways, back on topic, what is MOULD?

according to this site: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bread-mold-growth.html
it is "Mold growing on the bread can be microscopic fungi belonging to different species like Penicillium, Rhizopus, Aspergillus, Monascus and Fusarum. They are of different shapes and colors depending on the species. Rhizopus stolonifer is the most common and fast growing bread mold. It is also known as black mold as it appears dark green or black in color. It causes rotting of some fruits and some infections in humans."

that didn't really explain much to me so i searched around for more meanings...

this site: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mold.htm states,
"Mold is a type of fungus that grows on plants and fibers and is most often associated with damp, musty locations such as bathrooms, basements and attics. Mold travels through the air as tiny spores which like to make their home in wet areas, where they will breed."

and this site: http://www.cccf-fcsge.ca/healthy-spaces/mould_en.php
"Mould is part of the fungus family, along with mushrooms and yeast. Mould spores are very small and they travel easily through the air."

and good ol' wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold) says

"Mold are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments, called hyphae.^[1] In contrast, microscopic fungi that grow as single cells are called yeasts. A connected network of these tubular branching hyphae has multiple, genetically identical nuclei and is considered a single organism, referred to as a colony or in more technical terms a mycelium.

Molds do not form a specific taxonomic or phylogenetic grouping, but can be found in the divisions Zygomycota, Deuteromycota and Ascomycota. Some molds cause disease or food spoilage, others play an important role in biodegradation or in the production of various foods, beverages, antibiotics and enzymes."

dedicated to my followers!!

i wish you all a big GOOD LUCK with your srp's and remember YOU CAN DO IT! Hope you guys have a good long weekend as well.

btw: i found out if you add a y and a u to srp, you get SYRUP :D

Preservative (282)

the preservative im using in my experiment is preservative (282) so i googled it, and the first site that came up was a factsheet on it and i thought to myself AWESOME.
so this is the site http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Fact282.htm
here's my little summary of it that is relevant to my experiment:

• Preservative (282) is actually calcium propianate and it is the most commonly used preservative in bread.
• it is used mostly in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia
• "Contrary to what the food industry would like you to believe, this additive is not to keep your bread fresh. Calcium propionate (282) is added to inhibit the growth of mould. There is no mould on a freshly baked loaf of bread, so why use a mould inhibitor? Bakers who keep their work benches and slicer blades clean and mould-free, by wiping with vinegar every day, do not need this additive. However, bakers in large factories prefer the less time-consuming method of "fogging" their equipment with a chemical spray. Putting hot loaves in plastic bags makes the problem worse. Preservative 282 allows for sloppy hygiene. It is for the convenience of the manufacturer not the consumer."
• propianate can have serious affects on the consumer depending on the different doses.

have to go now, dinner and art class, didn't end up doing as much as i hoped today but i will be back later to update you on how i did my experiment etc. CYA!!

do you like my new look?

this is the result of my procrastination. isn't it pretty? i promised myself i will do my srp today so here i am doing it. i thought i will make my new look match the topic of my experiment more hence the bread in the background and the yellow. i made the some of the text green to represent mold :D yepp i have put a lot of thought into this and it got me in the mood to do some real work now. next post will be up soon. i hope

So here's the story

At first, my mum brought home 2 breads that one had preservatives and the other didn't and both had the same ingredients, baked at the same time and place and both was the same type of bread but they were tiny damper rolls. So i couldn't really work with these as i could only get 1 slice out of each roll and my mum didn't have any more.She said that she had used all of the preservatives and it'll take a long time until i get what i wanted. So i decided to go shopping instead. I looked at all the types of breads on the self and their ingredients, nutrition facts and the best before dates. Some of them were really confusing, but in the end i found one that has the preservative 282 as one of its ingredients.

and later i found one that was clearly labelled "no preservative 282.

One factor that i wasn't really happy about was that there were not the same brands, so they weren't made in the same place or used the same ingredient, which i will mention in my results. A factors that were the same for both loaves of bread were they were both white breads. Also the date that both loaves were made is unsure but the best before date are the same so I assume both loaves were made at the same time.

top: Country Split-with preservatives 282
bottom:Woolworths Home brand- without preservative 282

the 5:05 post

in this website http://ezinearticles.com/?Bread-Mold-Science-Fair-Projects-Ideas&id=308382
it says "Mold commonly grows on bread faster in warm, dark, moist conditions. However, mold can grow in light, and some molds can even grow on frozen foods. Molds grow in varying conditions, at varying speeds, in every color you can think of."

That is pretty cool that you can have mold in any colour you want like it can be a RAINBOW :D

so i was thinking for my experiment i cant really find a place that is warm constantly but i can put it into a dark place. My house is considerably moist so i hope my mould will grow.

the 4:59 post literally

okays just got home and ran in the door to turn on my computer and i have just made it on time.
i just want to add that in the similar experiment done by someone else, she saw a change and mold started to grow in 27 days so i am going to let my mold grow for 27 days and record my last results then.

Aim, Hypothesis, Material, Method

Aim: to investigate how much longer it takes bread with preservatives to grow mold than it bread without preservatives

Hypothesis: the bread without the preservatives will grow the mold the fastest.

Materials:

• 2 bread loaves- with preservatives and without
• cotton swab
• dropper
• zip lock bags
• gloves
• knife
• low tray
  

Method:

1. Buy the same type of bread with and without preservatives of the same brand.
2. Cut 10 slices of 10x10x2 cm of bread from the center of the bread loaf without preservatives.
3. place 5 cuts of the non preservative bread in sealed, labelled zip lock bags
4. Get a cotton swab and collect some dust and swab on each slice of bread and then add 5 droplets of water, using a dropper, to each slice of non preservative bread
5. do this to 5 slices and place in sealed, labelled zip lick bags.
6. Check every day at approx. the same time and record observations and results if any.
7. Place all samples in zip lock bags in a low tray away from the light.
   
8. Repeat steps 3-7 with bread that contains preservatives.
9. Repeat experiment with a new batch of breads.

MOLD- isn't it colourful

according to this site: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bread-mold-growth.html
"Dust that was put on the bread carried spores to the bread which led to the bread mold growth on it." and they also put droplets of water on each slice of bread as mold grows best in moist conditions.
i was thinking i could combine this as part of my experiment to quicken up the process of the mold growth.

i found that this experiment has already been done as a science fair project and i'm going to use this as a reference for my experiment;
http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2006/Projects/J1305.pdf
but of course my one will be different :D

the decision

i have decided to do (with the help of my fellow classmate Mary and some research) How Much Longer Does It Take Bread with Preservatives to Grow Mold Than It Takes Bread without Preservatives?

The variables are:

• independent variable- the type of bread used (with and without preservatives)
• dependent variable- the time and how much mold grew
• controlled variable- the size of bread used -the storage of the bread slices -the environment where the bread are placed -results to be taken at the same time -the amount if light (heat) they reaceive
  

i think i can also create a valid and conclusive result from this

CHANGE

i think i am going to change my experiment because i don't think i will have time to do my reaction time experiment. The only time i can conduct the experiment is at lunch and as many people know during lunch i am very busy.

i was talking to my mum the other night how if i should change my experiment and she asked me why i didn't do an experiment on bread as she owns a bakery. So i followed her advice and looked for experiments relating to bread. The only thing i could find using bread is something to do with mold and i think that looks do-able and interesting.
The 2 topics that caught my eye was
How Much Longer Does It Take Bread with Preservatives to Grow Mold Than It Takes Bread without Preservatives?
and
Does temperature affect the growth of mold?

I'm going to do some research and come up with a decision..

CLIMATE GRAPH

I DID IT FINALLY!! i tried everything from excel to photoshop and in the end i gave up and went back to good old paint and it was so much easier.

Reaction Time

i have decided that i will use the ruler test to test the reaction time as i read through the online reaction time tester (the site i posted before http://getyourwebsitehere.com/jswb/rttest01.html) and it says its not accurate and its not a scientific tool:

i researched a bit on reaction time and according to this site http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/HumBeh_p009.shtml

"Reaction time is the time that elapses between a sensory stimulus and the response to that stimulus. Thus, it is a measure of the total time necessary for a chain of internal events:

• the stimulus activates one or more sensory receptors,
• the receptor(s) send a signal to the central nervous system (CNS),
• the CNS processes the incoming signal and elicits a neural response,
• which must then travel to the appropriate muscles in order to generate the physical response.

"Under optimal conditions of attention, we can respond to a sensory stimulus in 120 to 150 ms." (Ghez, 1991) The shorter time (120 ms) is for proprioceptive or auditory stimuli. (Proprioceptive stimuli result from mechanical displacement of the muscles or joints. An example is when your doctor taps your knee to test your reflexes. Your doctor is checking your reaction time.) The longer time (150 ms) is for visual stimuli, due to additional synapses in the retina. Reaction time will be even longer if we need to decide between several alternative choices of response (Ghez, 1991). "

i did some research on the different methods of the ruler drop experiment to test reaction time and came up with one my self:
1. the sitter should be seated with her arm resting on the table with just the hand over the table.
2. The top of the 1m ruler is held between the outstretched thumb and index finger.
3.. the bottom of the ruler is dangling in between the testers thumb and index finger.
4. the tester is to keep watch the top of the ruler
5. When the ruler is dropped the tester is to grab the ruler as fast as possible
6. Measure and record the reaults
7. Analyse resluts (i.e. conver to m/s using the formula d = vt + ½at² where; d = distance in metres, v = initial velocity = 0, a = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81m/s², t = time in seconds)
8. Repeat steps 1-7 three times and calculate the average for each.

THE POST!

OKAYY!! i have chosen which one to be the ONE! and its "How phone conversations effect reaction times" if this doesn't work then i have many backups but I'm trying to not do the plant ones because it's very common and i suck at working with plants plus if i can do this experiment then i can prove to people that driving while talking on the phone is VERY dangerous :D
Some problems that i think may arise are that i wont get enough people and my phone bills.

Developing EVERYTHING

okay now all i need to develop all of my possible ideas and write all the variables and research and finally chose one to be the ONE!

okay here all my ideas developed:

1. HOW DOES A PHONE CONVERSATION AFFECT REACTION TIME???
i googled this and found this site and it had tips on how to do this experiment so I'm going to use this site as a reference
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/HumBeh_p009.shtml
i researched further and found that there were actually two ways to measure reaction time. i could use a ruler to measure or i could use a reaction measuring device on the internet; http://getyourwebsitehere.com/jswb/rttest01.html

so here are the variables;

1. independent variable- the different distractions (i.e. using hands free or hands on mobile phone and no distractions-control)
   
2. dependent variable- the reaction time
3. controlled variable- the questions asked - the same indication of when to drop the ruler - gender - age - length of where the ruler is dropped - height at which the hand is to catch the ruler - which hand is being used - same questions being asked through the phone
   

2. Next idea, i think it should be how different types of water affects plants growth;

1. independent variable- the type of water used (i.e. tap water, milk, tea, coffee, orange juice)
2. dependent variable- how long the stem grows
3. controlled variable- what type of seed is used - the amount of solution used everyday for every seed - the same location/ same amount of sunlight - same time of day when it is getting watered
   

3. STRING TELEPHONES;

1. independent variable- the length of sting between the cups
2. dependent variable- the sound coming from one can to another
3. controlled variable - the size of the can - the type of string used - the same words or sentence being talked through - the type of cup being used(plastic, paper, tin can)

4. Does colour of the pot effect the growth of plants;

1. independent variable- the colour of the pot
2. dependent variable- the growth of the plant
3. controlled variables- the type of pot - the same location - the same amount of water being used - same soil - same seed - same amount of sunlight
   

5. the effect of temperature on paint;
this idea was suggested by someone in a forum; http://classroom.all-science-fair-projects.com/forum/showthread.php?t=687

1. independent variable- the temperature (freezer or under the sun)
   
2. dependent variable- the change in colour or texture
   
3. controlled variable- the tube that is going to be painted - the colour - the type of paint - how it is placed in the different areas

other IDEAS!

I found some other ideas that was interesting and looked really fun to do

1. The effect of temperature on paint
2. Does the colour of the pot effect the growth of the plant
3. Does the presence of digital noise reduce out ability to recognise images on television
   

TELEPHONE???

STRING TELEPHONES!!! i have always wanted to try one of these. DO they actually work?? but found another idea on the internet and it was the range limit for string telephones! sounds really fun but i have no idea yet on how string telephones even work but i will find out!!

another IDEA

I once got my grandma a bunch of flowers for her birthday and put it into a vase and placed it on her side table. My grandma loved it but the flowers started to die after a few days. i then remembered my friend saying that i should put sugar in the water to help the flowers last longer. So I thought that for my SRP i could do an experiment on if the amount of sugar in the water will effect how long flowers will stay alive and maybe after this experiment i will know how to keep my presents lasting a little longer. :)

This idea led to another idea of what water is best used to grow plants like orange juice or milk(always wondered if the calcium would make the plant grow more) or tap water or boiled water...

RING A LING??

Since i put my title as RING A LING you would probably wonder why i like that title. Well 1. Its a good song 2. its my ring tone and 3. I LOVE THE NAME!!! but just so you wouldn't think that i was a crazy, obsessed lunatic or a very random person i thought i would do my srp on that goes ring a ling...a PHONE

Went searching and found this really good one that has something to do with a phone. found this awesome website http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/pages/sciencefairzone/topics.asp and found one that was very interesting; How does talking on a cell phone or listening to music affect reaction time? i think we tested reaction time in year 8??? but this experiment involves a lot of people and that means a lot of paperwork. but looks doable

COLOUR!

Since most people that know me know that I LOVE THE COLOUR YELLOW and recently my speech was on retail colouring and how it can control consumers minds, i thought it would be interesting to do an experiment on this but i don't know how or how I'm going to make it a fair experiment

IDEAS!

OKAY! woke up this morning and it just hit me that I HAVENT DONE ANYTHING ON MY BLOG YET ! so after a few hours of researching and eating time, procrastinating and reminiscing i have finally got some ideas but i don't know which one i should do yet!

HELLO WORLD!